For questions about Homer, the author of the poems Iliad and Odyssey.
Questions tagged [homer]
33 questions
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What was the definitive reason behind Sisyphus punishment?
Sisyphus punishment, to roll a rock on top of a moutain forever, is said to have been given because of his trickery with Thanatos.
However, it seems that the reason behind this punishment was not explicitely stated : French Wikipedia states on the…
Docteur
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How did Odysseus's ship get wrecked, and how did Odysseus himself land to Ogygia?
I have tried to read Homer's Odyssey and commentaries to find out details about how Odysseus's shipwreck happened, how many men were involved and saved and so forth. It looks like the first book starts when Odysseus was already in the Ogygia island,…
MarkokraM
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How did Helen get back from Troy?
The nostoi, or journeys home, of many of the heroes of the Trojan War are recounted by Homer -- most famously that of Odysseus -- or were known in antiquity but later lost. Is anything known about how Helen got back to Sparta?
In the Odyssey, book…
TKR
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Why does Ino help Odysseus?
In Book V of the Odyssey, Ino saves Odysseus from drowning by giving him a magic veil.
Why? Ino is a water deity, I'd expect her to be aligned with Poseidon's wishes. What reason does she have to intervene in favor of the hero instead? Even…
Ouroboros
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Odysseus raid on the Cicones at Ismaros (Odyssey Book 9 lines 40-66)
Open question for thoughts and explanations re Odysseus’ raid on the Cicones (also called Kikonians) while on his way home from the Trojan War, on any of my questions below and/or other thoughts of your own.
In Homer’s Odyssey Book 9, Odysseus tells…
Timothy
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Why is Dante’s Odysseus different from Homer’s?
In Canto XXVI of the Inferno, Dante encounters Odysseus and Diomedes. Odysseus account of his exploits after Troy differ from the more familiar story in Homer’s Odyssey. Notably, Dante’s Odysseus does not return to Ithaca, deciding to travel beyond…
Girsan Virlee
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Could Achilles have killed Hector at a later time?
Achilles was given two choices by his mother, either stay and die with imperishable fame or leave the war and live a life of peace. When he heard Hector killed Patroclus, to escape his fate and take revenge couldn't Achilles just leave that war and…
Gintoki
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Was there an epic or drama detailing Menelaus's return?
In book IV of the Odyssey (translator Robert Fitsgerald), Menelaus mentions he spent 7 years returning to Sparta. This seems like it would be something that somebody in ancient times would write about. If it was written, what is the piece called?
tox123
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Identifying the places in the Odyssey
I suppose there have been academic attempts to identify all the places mentioned in the Odyssey by Homer, specially after Heinrich Schliemann found Troy.
I would like to know if there's any kind of consensus about the route Odysseus took. I've found…
Rodia
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Did Achilles suspect he might die by Hector's hands?
In Richmond Lattimore's translation, the following lines (9.410-416) are a part of Achilles' first speech in Book Nine:
For my mother Thetis the goddess of the silver feet tells me
I carry two sorts of destiny toward the day of my death. Either,
…
James Cook
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Honor, cunning and realism of underhandedness in the Iliad
The heroes of the Iliad seem to be completely obsessed with honourable fighting, with Hector refusing to take sanctuary behind the walls due to that not being honourable (The Great Courses - Famous Greeks, Lecture 3: "Hector", with Professor J.…
Hao S
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What did Odysseus and his men do to err Athena?
When Hermes arrives on Ogygia, she asks why he is visiting here:
Why have you come to see me, Hermes - honored, and ever welcome - for you do not visit me often?...
Retrieved, paragraph 7
Hermes responds it is of no accord of his own and that Zeus…
Andrew Johnson
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Do gods know all other gods?
In the Odyssey, Hermes takes flight to Ogygia, Calypso's island, at Zeus's command to tell Calypso to let Odysseus go home. When he arrives Calypso recognizes him right away because:
the gods all know each other, no matter how far they live from…
Andrew Johnson
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What is the story of Eurymedon, the giant king who brought destruction on his people?
Homer mentions the giant king Eurymedon ("ruling far and wide") in the Odyssey (Book 7.56):
Nausithous at the first was born from the earth-shaker Poseidon and Periboea, the comeliest of women, youngest daughter of great-hearted Eurymedon, who once…
yannis
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Is Homer a good overview, or an encompassing view, of Greek Mythology?
I read philosophy, and so often is Homer referenced as giving extraordinary accounts of Greek Mythology, and it seems that he might as well be the standard for the gospel. Do his books delve deep into the lore of the gods? If one were to learn about…
user31078
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